Ice-cream-brick container



April 10, 1928. 1,665,681

C. B. TELLING ICE CREAM BRICK CONTAINER Filed Feb. 3. 1923 INVENTOR. Cizar/eu' ,5 Zsf/z'n ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES CHARLES B. TELLING, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

IQE-CREAM-BRICK CONTAINER.

Application filed February 3, 1923. Serial No. 616,710.

As is well known, the manner in which socalled brick-ice cream is handled in the ordinary retail establishment is to place the same in a separate refrigerator cabinet wherein is provided a chamber about which ice is packed, the bricks being piled in said chamber one above the other, whether'the chamber opens from above or one side. It is unnecessary to recite the numerous objections that attend this method of handling the product in question other than to note that the icing of a separate refrigerator is V necessarily expensive and that the product is not readily accessible, it being frequently necessary to remove the entire contents of the cabinet in order to get at the particular brick wanted. Furthermore, if the cabinet be not kept tightly closed, the product is apt to soften and rapidly deteriorate.

The object of the present invention is to rovide a form of container that may be installed in the same cabinet wherein the cans of bulk ice cream are placed, such cabinet being usually associated with a dispensing counter, such as is familiarly found in drug stores and the like. The amount of additional refrigeration required will be ver small and in addition the construction of a e present container is such that all of the stock on hand is readily accessible, while such stock may be readily replaced and the closing of the container cannot well be overlooked. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim, the annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing 2- Fig. 1 is a transverse section through a refrigerating cabinet of the kind referred to above as being associated with a dispensing counter, the container embodying my pres ent improved construction being shown (likewise in section) as installed in said cabinet; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one element of such container; Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the container in its assembled condition as shown in Fig. 1, but on a somewhat larger scale, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 3-3,

Fig. 1; and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sections of two modifications. I

The detail construction of the refrigerating cabinet 1, shown in Fig. 1, is not of present interest, forming no part of the invention in hand. Ordinarily such cabinet consists of a refrigerating chamber 2, suitably enclosed by heat insulating walls and with a pivotal or otherwise movable cover 3 that when raised permits access to such cha1nher. The latter'is of sufficient length to receive a number of ice cream cans disposed in longitudinally spaced relation and the present container Wlll simply take the place of one such can and will be surrounded, like the latter, with a suitable refrigerant adapted to maintain the contents of the container at the proper low temperature.

The body 5 of the present container consists in effect of a can of rectangular crosssection (see Figs. 1 and 3) of such height as to bring its top just below the coverror lid 3 so that upon raising the latter, the handled cover 6 of said can is in easy reach. Fixedly attached to the under side of such cover 6 is a series of trays 7 that are of rectangular form and of such dimensions as to receive a definite number of ice cream bricks when placed side by side thereon. The trays or shelves 7 are preferably provided with flanges 8 on each side and the rear thereof and they are furthermore provided with perforations 9 so that the bricks may be exposed on their under side, as well as laterally and above, to the refrigerant atmosphere within the can when the latter is properly cooled. The trays or shelves are conveniently attached to the cover 6 by being riveted or otherwise firmly attached to vertically depending bars 10, one at each corner, the vertical spacing of the trays being such as to allow for a slight clearance between the bricks resting on one tray and the under surface of the tray next above, or that of the cover 6, as the case may be.

It will be understood that the dimensions of the trays, as well as the number thereof and the distance the same are spaced apart, will all depend upon the standard size of the bricks and the capacity of the container. It will furthermore be noted that the trays are somewhat smaller than the interior crosssectional area of the can so as to allow for the free circulation of air entirely about said trays even when completely filled; also that the lowermost tray is supported clear of the bottom-of the can for the same rea son and in order that the bricks resting thereon may be kept out of contact with any condensed moisture or water that may collect in the bottom of the can.

In use, assuming the trays or shelves to be properly stocked, when it s des1red to take out a brick of a particular character,

e. g. flavor, the lid 6 is lifted so as to expose temporarily the entire stock, the desired brick is selected and removed from Whatever shelf it may be resting on, and the series of trays dropped back again into the can until the cover rests on the top of the latter.

The can is thus necessarily sealed again and the contents exposed for a min mumtime. The lidswith attached trays are made interchangeable sothat it is unnecessary to take out the can when it is desired tore-stock, but a freshly filled's'et of trays is simply installed for the empty one; or should there be several bricks still'left, these are readily transferred to the substitute set of trays wherein the upper trays or shelves will belet't vacant for the purpose. This will prevent accumulationioi old stock since bricks will naturally be selected fromthc uppermost shelves first in dispensingthe roduct; The use of racks of my improved c esign for re-stocking has the further advantage that delivery from truck or wagon to store involves no unnecessary handling of the bricks or exposure thereof; furthermore, the amount of cream or number of bricks may be instantly ascertained and the delivery of the product correspondingly speeded up. Finally, there 7 v is a very material saving in the amount of Y refrigeration required over havlng to 106 a ice separate cabinet, quite aside from the other annoyances involved n the use of such cabinet for the storage and dispensing of brick ice cream. 7 7

Instead of relying on the cover to sustain the lowerinosttray clear of the bottom of'the container, the bars 10 may be carried a corresponding distance below such tray so as to form short legs 11 (see Fig. 4) that serve thus to support the assembled series of trays and so relieve the cover from any suspended load except when it is lifted. In

place of such legs 11 projecting downwardly from the tray, lugs or blocks 12- of equivalent height may rise from the bottom of the can as shown in Fig. 5. V

' Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards themechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated hy'the claim or the equivalent of suchstated means be employed.

1 therefore particularlypoint out and dis CHARLES B. TELLING; 

